Berlin's Senate has approved a sweeping reform of the city's housing policy, limiting rents on close to 400,000 public housing units to no more than 30 percent of a household income.
In a policy change expected to go into effect on January 1, 2016, rental costs for public housing units in Berlin will be tied to household income. Feargus O'Sullivan of CityLab reports that the change will affect 125,000 public housing units and 280,000 units from state-owned housing companies. To qualify for social or state-owned housing, tenants are currently limited to an annual income of $18,040 for single people and $27,060 for couples (figures in U.S. dollars).
From now on, low-income tenants in these homes will have a guarantee that rent rises will not price them out…
People on low incomes living in social- or state-owned housing will pay no more than a third of their gross income in rent. For tenants in a few buildings with especially high energy costs, that ceiling will be dropped to 25 percent of gross income.
The change, O'Sullivan reports, will allow renters in fast gentrifying neighborhoods to remain in-place with greater protections. Support for renter rights is strong in Berlin, and across Germany, due to the high numbers of renters—estimated at 85 percent of households in Berlin.
Read the full story: Berlin Just Showed the World How to Keep Housing Affordable
What Happened When Berlin Tried Rent Control?
Enacted in 2015, Berlin's "Mietpreisbremse" ordinance limits rent increases on some (but not all) apartments. According to this study, results have not been ideal.
A Dirty Little Secret: Rising Property Values Are Incompatible With Affordability
Rising property values come with positive community development, but this shift can make neighborhoods inaccessible to low-income renters and fixed-income homeowners.
In Defense of Rent Control
Rent control policies, widely panned by economists, have been shown to slow displacement and keep housing affordable.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority